


Full Circle

by sheroars



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Love Confessions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-25
Updated: 2018-03-25
Packaged: 2019-04-07 18:19:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14086818
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sheroars/pseuds/sheroars
Summary: "A good vacation is in order. Some where nobody knows your name.""Mmmmm any recommendations?""Rome. Paris. Bath. Lisbon." He trailed off for a moment, catching her hand. "Cincinnati?" He beamed as she laughed.





	Full Circle

The combination of 2 glasses of wine, a proper dinner, a boiling hot shower, the thunderstorm outside, and a freshly laundered duvet was doing a number on her senses. She drifted in and out of consciousness in a deliriously comfortable manner. At some point the lights in the living room were turned off. At some point Noah hugged and kissed her goodnight. At some point the whole apartment was dark but the bedroom curtains were thrown open so that the twinkly city lights were casting a glowy grey haze through the rain and fog.  The only other light was coming from the iPad propped in his lap. His profile was sharp against the view of the city on the other side of him.  

 

She pulled the covers up to hide a yawn and stretched her legs out, luxuriating in the peace. He was working on something, but too slowly for it to be emails. He felt her moving, glancing down at her and smiling softly.  

 

"Vonnegut." He said, reading the question in the quirk of her left eyebrow. She felt something warm bloom in the center of his chest. He was taking the time to re-read his favorites lately, usually in the day or two after she finished reading them for the first time. Every 2 weeks or so there was a new download waiting on her library app, favorite portions already highlighted.    

 

"Meta-fiction? At this hour?" She teased.

 

"The night's still young." She pushed herself upright enough to draw close, dropping a leg between his and anchoring her arm around his waist. He immediately raised an arm and adjusted the iPad, propping it against his un-straddled knee so he could pretend to read still. She closed her eyes again, pressing her ear down into the middle of his chest until his heartbeat bled through his tee shirt. He pushed his hand up and down her spine, firm and comforting, before circling her shoulders and cradling her close.

 

"Thank you. For tonight. For everything, but especially for tonight."

 

"Hush." She felt his lips against the top of her head. She lifted her chin and felt them fall against her forehead and cheek and eyelids.

 

"Rafael." She sighed, just his name…dripping with something that tasted like happiness as his lips touched hers ever so chastely. Warmly. Peacefully. Their phones were turned off. All the way off. Sitting in the key bowl in the kitchen. They weren't expected to be anywhere for a solid while.

 

"Looks like a painting outside." She blinked, took in the view again from his embrace. The iPad had been put aside and both of his arms circled her, tight enough to make breathing slightly more effortful. It was like an impressionist was interpreting the city before them.

 

"Almost a pretty one." She whispered, as if letting him in on a secret. He huffed out a laugh.  She pressed a lingering kiss to his exposed collar bone.

 

"Get some rest." He whispered back. She withdrew from the embrace, making herself comfortable in his bed and smiling as she thought about how blissed out Noah was, dead center in the matching King in the guest bedroom down the hall. She knotted her fingers in the hem of his shirt and gave a gentle tug.

 

"You too." 

 

"Don't have to tell me twice." He settled too, close enough to keep her warm. He propped himself up on an elbow and traced a line from her elbow to her shoulder with his lips before kissing her again. "Olivia." He mumbled, sweet and soft like the amen after absolution.

 

~

 

At some point she faintly heard movement but was too relaxed to even open her eyes. It was still raining. Two voices were singing something jaunty in the kitchen. The door opened and warm greetings were exchanged. Lucy took Noah to school. Three locks slid into place, sealing them off from the world again. Olivia turned onto her stomach and exhaled deeply, entirely ready to sleep for another hour or two.

 

The bedroom door opened and shut. The black out drapes were drawn back over the windows. Whatever clothes he had put on were stripped off again. The duvet lifted and she turned her head look at him, slightly bleary. He laid down next to her, draping a heavy arm and shoulder around her back.

 

"Only 2 uniforms. Must be a special occasion." She snorted, escorts were never her favorite but they were necessary. Five had dropped them off yesterday evening. "Carisi said your place is still being processed. You can give him a list of what you want and he'll bring it after it's cleared. You'll need to Skype in for a walk through to see what's missing later." Her brow furrowed as she remembered why she was here. Chaos. Running. Nothing but a go-bag in one arm and Noah in the other. Safe-house. Compromise. Trouble. Rafael kneaded the tense spot on the back of her neck with his thumb and index finger. "Stop thinking."

 

"Okay."

 

~

 

He made comfort food. Arroz con pollo. The apartment was just light enough to see without turning on any of the lights. She sat on a barstool at his kitchen island and watched him work, wearing a pair of jeans she was still shocked he owned and a thick knit sweater the same shade of grey as the sky.  She balled her hands into the sleeves of the Harvard hoodie he had clothed her in and swung her feet in time with the fairly soothing music he was playing in the apartment. A Spanish crooner of some sort. She had recently discovered that he possessed a truly beautiful singing voice. After repeated joking about being kicked out of choir in high school, he had finally reached a certain point of total relaxation around her and found himself singing under his breath as he bumped around his apartment.  

 

When he set two plates down on the counter she realized she was starving.

 

"Thank you."

 

"Of course." She uncrossed her legs and pulled him forward by the belt loop. He stood between her knees.  "I didn't learn much from my father, but he knew his way around a chicken." He fit a hand around the side of her thigh, picking at invisible specs of lint on her leggings before stroking a pattern across the width of her leg. Tingles shot up her spine. Yah. They were a few months into this but it still felt new.  

 

"You gotta show me how to do this. Noah would love it."

 

"He likes it spicy?"

 

"He lives with me." He snickered. She smiled. He touched the backs of his fingers to her cheek, stroked his thumb under the corner of her eye. He lost his breath as her cheeks flushed. "Did they tell you anything?" He shook his head and kissed her forehead, dropping his hand.

 

"Just that there was a threat. And that your apartment was trashed." He pushed rice around with his fork. "You don't have to-" She shook her head, chewed thoughtfully. He shut up and waited.

 

"After the hearing I went straight to his school. I wanted to surprise him. We grabbed a pizza, made our way home. My door was…off it's hinges and my landlord was speaking to a handful of unis. Someone had tossed the place and painted my walls." She pulled out her phone _. Kill the bitch. Save the boy_. He inhaled sharply. "Dodds thought we should sit in a safe house until they knew what everything meant. So they whisked us to a motel in Long Island. Finn was babysitting. He left to grab a drink from the vending machine. Somebody spray painted the same thing on the hood of his car.

 

"Jesus." He tensed, fighting the urge to react physically. "Liv…"

 

"I've never-" She stopped short and huffed. "I've never felt like that. Numb and paralyzed at the same time. Dumb with it. I couldn't think. Couldn't breathe. Usually I wouldn't flinch but-"

 

"Noah." He finished for her. She nodded.

 

"Then you called and we thought they might not follow us to a neighborhood like this."

 

"You got that right. Mrs. Gardner and her gargoyles would perform a citizen's arrest." That earned a smile. There was a particularly strange, mildly wealthy type of older crowd in this building. They enjoyed hanging out of their windows and chastising people they felt didn't belong on their block. Between the doorman, the night watchman, and the single access lobby security was much easier to monitor. With the extra uniforms, the unmarked car detail across the street, and security amped for both Noah's school and Lucy she could relax. Or at least, should be relaxing.

 

He turned and took a half step forward, fully between her thighs. She hooked her right leg around his calf and smoothed a hand up his chest. "I'm keeping you both here till I here the word remand fall out of a judge's mouth." She would have rolled her eyes, any other day. Today it was…sweet.  "Do you have any idea where this is coming from?" She frowned, plucked at his sweater.    

 

"I think so. In 2009 we helped bust a small gang terrorizing Hells Kitchen. A man named Reed Farrell led this group of men. Called themselves _The Men's_ Club. They got their hands on as many women as possible…girls, college students, middle aged, elderly, they didn't discriminate."

 

"I remember that. Tried together. Life sentences across the board."

 

"Jury was out for 17 minutes, 13 defendants. Had to be a record. I had forgotten all about them till I saw this." She returned to the image on her phone, zooming in on the end of the threat. What looked like a smear of paint turned out to be a sickeningly familiar stain for people in their line of work. Semen.

 

"Farrell tried to kill me. We were alone in interrogation. I was trying to get him riled. Pushed the table out, got in his face. He nailed me in the chest with his boot, got me on the floor…" She stopped when she noticed his barely contained disgust. "I never saw him again, but he swore to 'spread his seed'. They would rape these girls and women, try to impregnate them. Just gave them all STDs and stalked them. Left public threats like this. They got off on abuse and terror and isolation. They taught boys to possess and take and destroy." She mused. "We never really found out how far Farrell's words got. He had an online following too but it was impossible to track then…and now. But we've never encountered anything like them in a long time…"  She got a far away look in her eyes. He leaned in a little closer, let his fingers stroke up and down the tops of her thighs. "This is nothing I haven't seen or felt before…It just feels so ugly Rafael."      

 

"I know." He said. And for now, that was enough. They finished eating. She made coffee. There was a couch in his study with a view almost as beautiful as the one in his bedroom. She always liked his apartment, but especially this room. It was him. Floor to ceiling bookshelves, exposed brick, spotless desk, bright blue filing cabinet, cushy furniture with copper studs. It smelled like paper, fresh flowers, and a bit like his cologne.    

 

She watched bemusedly as he slouched in the corner of the couch, holding an arm out to her in invitation. She cupped her coffee in both hands and knelt next to him, tucking her legs under herself and looking pensively out the window behind them as she draped her arm over his on the back of the couch.

 

"How are we doing?" He asked softly, following her gaze.

 

"You? You're stunning. Me? Through the wringer."

 

"But through it?" She nodded.

 

"On the other side of it. Just wish the nerves would go away already."

 

"A good vacation is in order. Some where nobody knows your name."

 

"Mmmmm any recommendations?"

 

"Rome. Paris. Bath. Lisbon." He trailed off for a moment, catching her hand. "Cincinnati?" He beamed as she laughed.

 

"Atlantic City."

 

"Minneapolis."

 

"I have been thinking about it. Getting Noah out of the city for awhile, once school is out. He's never seen a good beach."

 

"It's a good idea." He agreed. Before she could bite down on her tongue a devastating handful of words escaped her. 

 

"Only if you come with us." She nearly stopped breathing when his expression turned serious and his coffee was set aside.       

 

"Anytime, anywhere." Before she could think of a reply he was sitting up straight, clasping her waist, looking up at her face. His eyes were open and stained with naked affection, cheeks slightly pink. She put her mug down next to his and sucked in a deep breath, willing herself not to cry in front of him for the thousandth time.

 

"Rafa." She said, slightly hurried, twisting the hem of her (his) hoodie in her hands. "You make me feel…everything. So much…" He waited patiently. Goddamn him. He merely tipped her chin up so she would look at him, ready to catch any tears if they dared to fall. "Colors." She sighed, he nodded his understanding. "You said I make you see colors once. You make me feel them, I think. All the time. Everywhere I go. And I never want that to end." He drew a knee up on the couch and turned towards her. 

 

"Liv. I'm here until you send me away." One hand fell to the small of her back, the other to her chest, spanning her nearly collar bone to collar bone, swearing a solemn oath. "I promise you." She cursed at herself, struggling to find the appropriate words. Why did he make her brain short circuit like this?

 

"It used to always feel like time was running out. Always. There were limits. Deadlines. I could always see the end of the road." She pressed her lips together, thinking. "But that constraint is gone. Lately every day feels like the first and that should scare the shit out of me, but it doesn't. I feel…peaceful in a way that I haven't in a really long time and I know it's because of you. I won't lose that." He smiled.

 

"Is that a threat or a promise?" She smiled again as he pulled her close, wrapping firm arms around her waist as she threaded her fingers through his hair and kissed his forehead.

 

"Yes. Probably a warning sign too." He grinned, kissing her once. Twice. A third time.

 

"You don't have to say anything else. Olivia, I love you. I really do. Always have, always will."  

 

"Rafael." She sighed, closing her eyes, cheek pressed into his as she slipped her arms around his neck. "I don't know how I can ever give you what you've given to me."  

 

"No, no, no." He squeezed her tightly. "You don't owe me a damn thing." They sat their quietly. Listened to the city pass beneath them. Noah would be en route soon, inevitably high strung and vibrating with energy. She idly wondered what they could do to wear him out. She felt him take a deep breath, probably preparing to say something. She tightened her grip. He stroked her back, turned his lips into her cheek, he was smiling. "When I look at you I see more than just fucking colors, Liv. I see you and-" He voice broke. She pulled back enough to look at him. He wiped his eyes and sighed. "Am I doing any of this right?" She laughed, equally overwhelmed.

 

"I see you too, Rafael. You're a fucking gift. And one day I'll know how to say what I feel and it will be everything you deserve to-"        

 

"You already do that."

 

"When?" He shrugged. 

 

"The way you say my name." She laughed in disbelief again, dropping her head to the crook of his neck and closing her eyes, letting a few tears fall into his shirt. They basked in the softness of the moment, stretching it as far as they could. "There's never been anyone like you." He surmised. She reached up blindly, stroking his jaw in agreement, fingertips caressing his cheek as she pressed her lips to his neck. He was grounding. He was peaceful and firm. Everyone else had been, in their own ways, chaotic. Full of a sort of frantic energy that eventually clashed with her own. But not him.  

 

"Nobody." She agreed.  

 

"Dios," He mumbled, tugging the collar of the hoodie aside so he could press his lips to the crook of her neck. They sat there awhile longer. The sun finally began to peek through the clouds. Her watch chirped, signaling that Noah would be out of school in an hour. She straightened slightly, kissing him quickly before checking her phone for messages.

 

"No incidents at the school. Escorts will take Lucy home and then bring Noah here. Carisi will Skype me through my apartment after Noah's in bed and then fill me in."

 

"Good." 

 

"I'm going to apologize in advance, he's always high strung after school."

 

"I'll put him to work. They just put a community garden on the roof. Let's cook up something nice and have a picnic." She looked pleased at the suggestion. If there was one thing Noah loved it was making a mess in the kitchen and being outside. 

 

"What's the house special?"

 

"Medianoche con fritas y un bueno vino blanco."

 

"I think I've gained at least 7 pounds since you've started feeding us like this." He snorted at her dramatic sigh. But there was a tone in her voice. The thought of caring for her son and talking with others about her apartment and accepting the reality that someone had violated her space had take some of the brightness out of her voice. She stared vacantly at a spot on her knee.  

 

"C'mere." He stood and took her hand. She followed him unquestioningly, lacing their fingers. He grabbed his keys. They left the apartment, walking down the hall and around the corner. Past the elevator and around another corner was the stairwell. He punched in a code to let them through the door. She swallowed a crack about Fort Knox as he led them up two flights of stairs and punched in another door code to let them up on the roof.

 

"Wow." New York after the rain was always kind of beautiful, but this was ridiculous. There was a small greenhouse in the back corner but the rest of the roof was covered in flourishing box planters. Dozens of kinds of vegetables, flowers, and herbs were labeled by small laminated placards. Spring was only just touching the city but everything was green and growing and fresh smelling. Interspersed between glistening foliage was a variety of porch furniture, ready and waiting for people to share the space. They took a slow turn around the garden.

 

She made herself stop thinking. She focused on breathing. The greenery. The weight of his hand in hers. The lazy line his thumb dragged  across her own as they ambled. They both came to a stop at the corner of the roof, where they could lean on the ledge and look down. Across from his building was an Italian deli and a flower shop. Next door, to the left, a coffee shop was going in. Definitely something  modern, doomed to be filled by a younger crowd and upbeat music. There was a used book store, a bodega, and  a bistro between there and the next corner. People liked to walk in this neighborhood. Mostly dogs, some families, lots of busy looking people. Fornell's wasn't far, just a handful of blocks away. It was an easy walk. They had made it just a few nights ago. From up here it felt like a distant memory.      

 

"I come up here when I can't think." He said.  

 

"You? Not thinking?" She teased. "Does it just switch to a dial tone or-?" He snorted.

 

"More like radio static." She laughed, using their linked hands to drape his arm across her shoulders. She tucked her chin down and pressed her lips to the back of his hand for a long moment. The sun was coming out more, sending down light and a bit of warmth. 

 

"I still can't think. I feel…foggy." She admitted, brow furrowed. She looked at him, bit her bottom lip, eyes wet with confusion. "I should be doing something. I should be helping. Digging through case files or something. Deciding what to tell Noah or figuring out how they got my home address but I just…can't."   

 

"You don't have to. Not yet." She raised an eyebrow in question. He kissed the corner of her mouth and her stomach jumped into her throat. She turned towards him fully.

 

"Mi Alma." _My soul._ He mumbled, kissing her deeply. "Let us do the heavy lifting, okay?" She smiled softly, kissed his chin. His jaw. His free hand came up to stroke her hair back, catching her bottom lip between his own. She let out a gasp and then a full bodied laugh as he tickled one side of her neck and nosed the other. She tossed an arm around his neck and grabbed his hand. His own laughter bubbled up against her lips as they rocked back and forth, half heartedly pushing and pulling for the upper hand. 

 

"Rafa." She sighed, looking and sounding bright again. He beamed. Her heart soared. The fog in her mind was halfway lifted, enough to let some of the light in. She idly wondered which was brighter…his eyes or the day's first touch of sun.  When she took a definitive step towards the door he followed, letting himself be lead.  He followed her down the stairs, back down to his door. He would have followed her anywhere.

 

He chased her sighs. Her inhales. Her gasps. He traced a path from her knee up the inside of her thigh with his tongue. She let him lead her somewhere else entirely.

 

~

 

She could have laid there forever, on the carpet halfway between his bed and the en suite, with his hips between her thighs and his arms bracketing her head. Covered. Held. Safe…his fingers combed her hair back and his lips graced her temples. The corners of her eyes. She was aching in all the best ways.

 

"They'll be here any minute." He mumbled. She clasped one arm around his neck, the other around his waist. She pressed her fingertips into his spine, gently pressing his chest down against hers.   

 

"You're right." She said, as neither of them moved. She kissed him hard. He bit her bottom lip, hitched her leg higher on his hip  and filled his hand with her skin. She inhaled sharply as his fingers moved playfully, teasing the seam of her thigh. The text tone on her phone made her sit bolt upright, sending him flying to the side. 

 

"Shit."

 

"Fuck." They said in unison. She swallowed her amusement as he yanked her to her feet and pulled her leggings up from her left ankle to her hips in one swift jerk as he got stuck trying to pull his briefs back up. She read the text as he finally succeeded.

 

"Stuck in traffic…cab wreck a two blocks over, they're ten minutes away." She said, unable to contain her laughter any longer as he tripped backwards getting his pants up, crumpling a condom wrapper into his back pocket. It took a few seconds for the white panic to fade and to realize what was going on.

 

"Oh." She was nearly crying with laughter at her own jumpiness and his equally frantic response.  "Are you trying to give me a heart attack? You're trying to give me a heart attack, that's what this is. Just so you know, it's working."  She felt her back meet the door frame of the bathroom as he took her face in his hands and kissed her, tongue sweeping against hers demandingly. "Definitely working." He grumbled, after pulling away, stumbling past to throw away the evidence of their prior activities and to pull himself together in the mirror. He swore at the sight of the blossoming hicky on his collar bone before pulling a tee shirt on. 

 

"Is this the part where I say you give me heart palpitations too?" She teased, pulling her bra straps back up on her shoulders and searching for her camisole. It had ended up in the hallway. He sighed at the endearment, finally calm. He turned on the tap to press water against his cheeks, attempting to soothe the flush he had worked up. She used the bathroom after him, freshening up. She took a long look at herself, reveling a bit in the feelings that were very plainly etched on her face. There were little red spots and teeth marks on her shoulders. But the dark circles under her eyes were gone. Maybe some of the fatigue lines too. 

 

He was lying on his back on the bed with his legs hanging over the edge, arm over his face. 

 

"Hey…" She stood between his knees, nudged his leg with her own.

 

"Mmph." He pushed himself up on his elbows before sitting up fully. She pushed her fingers across his cheek around the back of his neck. "Nena." _Baby girl,_ he said against her sternum as she pulled him to her. She exhaled, stroking his hair. _My beloved. My soul. Baby girl._ He was ruthless with his affection and she was drowning in it. Happily. She was about to tell him as much when a knock finally landed on his door.  

 

~

 

"Hey Lieu, how you holding up?" It was the last thing he heard as the door to the study shut behind her. Carisi was on the phone, ready to de-brief. He let out a long exhale, pushed his hands in his pockets. He paced down the hall, peaked in the crack of a different door. Noah was fast asleep, drooling away in the nest he had constructed for himself in the middle of the bed. The floor already looked a bit like the living room of Olivia's apartment. His go-bag was packed with all of the necessities. He smiled, affection blooming warm and proud in his chest as he watched the little boy sleep. 

 

He paced his own room. The bed was rumpled. Delightfully and obviously lived in. He found himself uncharacteristically ready to get back in. He paced the kitchen. He straightened some of the memos on the fridge, put an empty wine bottle in the recycle. He paced the living room and found himself looking out the window. He resisted the urge to pour himself a scotch. The sun had long set but the headlights, street lights, and apartment lights were glowing.  The sky was rumbling, threatening rain again. On the floor below him, Mrs. Gardner was on her fire escape, shouting at someone below. Whoever it was on the pavement was shouting back.

 

_DID YOU GET THE LITTER? DON'T COME UP WITHOUT IT._

 

FOR FUCK'S SAKE ALICE, GET BACK INSIDE.

 

He felt himself smile a little. Gail. College student. She cared for some of the ladies in the building…a good person and a better friend. It had been awhile since they had a drink and talked shit over her philosophy homework. She and Olivia would get on like a house on fire. 

 

The door to his study open and shut. Olivia was pale. She shifted from one foot to the other as she observed him, discomfort practically radiating off her. She was just wearing a black camisole and her same leggings. Her hair was pulled back but rebellious tresses framed her face. His thoughts began to race. Vermeer Botticelli. Manet. Klimt. None would do her justice.

 

"Livia." He held out a hand to her. She crossed the room, wrapped her arms so tightly around his neck he had to remind himself to breathe.

 

"I'm not the only one." She said. He waited, felt her frown against his neck, squeezing him even more tightly before dropping down on her heels and wiping at her cheeks. "Farrell wrote a letter to a fan. He posted it on that old website they were running back when he was gathering momentum. It got 398 discreet hits. It named me and a Sargent in Philidelphia. She put away a handful of their fanatics two years after we did. She was also a single mother. They tossed both our places. Followed us. Left the same messages. But she got the shit kicked out of her in a parking lot by three assailants. She's in a coma but her daughter is safe." He sucked in a breath, leaning forward to press a chaste kiss to her shoulder. She began to speak faster. 

 

"They didn't really take anything. Just some of my underwear, probably just to get a rise out of me. I need to move though. Soon. Once it blows over. Fin and Rollins think they've nailed them. Two guys. Got their fingerprints off the registry. Haven't seen their parole officers in a few months but they've seen them trying to follow Rollins home. Carisi was with her so they got spooked. I'm on lockdown. Dodds blew it up for 1PP so I'm not supposed to move until they make an arrest. The DA wants to meet sometime tomorrow. I don't think-"

 

"Liv." He squeezed her hip, the rambling was making her panicky. 

 

"Sorry."

 

"Hush." She swallowed, folding her arms across her chest. She tucked herself under his chin. He draped his arms around her shoulders, tried to rub the shivers out of her skin. Together they watched the first drizzles of rain slap up against the windows. "Today is April 20th, 2018. It's 9.15 pm. Noah is sleeping like a baby. Snoring like his mother. The rest of us are awake. Here with you. Two uniforms in the lobby. A uniform with Lucy. Tutola is probably starting his shift in the car across the street. We'll get the call about an arrest sometime tomorrow morning. I'll bet on it. And then I'll go with you to the DA's office in the afternoon. I'm here. I'm not going anywhere. Nothing can touch you." She nodded, just barely.

 

She showered, let the scalding water bring her back to her body. They shared a cup of coffee. Black. With a little Jack. She began to feel human again. At some point the whole apartment was dark. The curtains were open again. Olivia pressed her cheek to his pillow and watched him, pulling his duvet over herself. He was reclined against the headboard, reading again. It was raining again. A mist and a fog was rolling in again. Any other day, any other lifetime, and with any other person this might have felt a bit repetitive.

 

"I love you." She said.  He looked at her. He was backlit by the city again. Ethereal. "So much." She added. He carefully set his iPad away, slipping down in the bed to lie next to her, gently setting his hand on her thigh. She laced her arm through his and fidgeted with the sleeve of his tee shirt. She turned her face to kiss his cheek. They watched the city lights play on the ceiling.

 

"Good." He said hoarsely. She grinned, blinking back tears. The rain was picking up. She felt him looking at her. She followed a shadow as it raced across the plaster above them.   

"These past few months I uh…I've never been so scared in my goddamn life. You're my best friend." She dropped to a whisper, mulling over her thoughts. "When you quit I thought I had lost you forever. Nobody ever comes back. But you did and ever since I've been trying to think of ways to get you to stay with me. And today I think I finally realized that I don't have to do that. You're here. I've never wanted anyone like this. I want this so much it hurts. I didn't know it could hurt like this. I want every day, every night, every minute I can get with you. This is…it for me. I love you."

 

"Olivia. I am yours." She turned her head, rested her brown against his and closed her eyes. 

 

"Me haces feliz. Quiero estar contigo para siempre." She said, with the accent he used to tease her about _. You make me happy. I want to be with you forever_.  

 

"Eres el amor de mi vida _." You are the love of my life_. She opened her eyes. They smiled dumbly at each other.                                        

 


End file.
